asked the Minister for the Environment the up-to-date position of an application for a reconstruction grant for a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary.

There is no record of the receipt in my Department of an application form for a house improvement grant from the person named and she has been so informed on numerous occasions. She recently forwarded an application for an essential repairs grant and this has been transmitted to the county council, who administer this scheme of grants.

I hope that is satisfactory.

This lady maintains that she submitted an application to the Minister's Department for a house improvement grant. She is a widow living alone and she is being pressed by the contractor who gave her the materials to enable her to carry out the improvements for payment and this has been going on now for at least two or three years.

If the Deputy can get me any information in regard to that matter I will have it sympathetically considered.

The Minister must be aware, from representations made to him by Members of the House, that this is a recurring complaint. I have had the experience on a number of occasions of the Department maintaining they have not received applications.

This question relates to a specific case in County Tipperary.

If there is evidence of that and if the Deputy will bring it to my notice I will have it investigated.

How is there evidence if the Minister's Department did not even receive them? I might add that even applications posted by me personally have not been received.

I cannot account for that. I am not responsible for the post.